Geek Girl Con Announces Panels and Programming

We here at STR headquarters are pretty stoked about heading to this year’s Geek Girl Con. We had an AMAZING time last year and are looking forward to even more fun this year.

While I am usually not much of a panel person, I found that I could have spent all of my time at the various panels at ast year’s GGC. Bravo to whoever put them together because it was back to back to back awesome panels!

This year looks to be more of the same high quality!

Geek Girl Con has announced their panels for both Saturday and Sunday!

Some Saturday Highlights include:

Capes and Canes: Abilities and Disability in Superhero Comics

The behavior and treatment of superhuman heroes and villains can shed light on our own culture’s beliefs and values regarding ability and disability. This open-ended discussion explores the juxtaposition and intersection of superpowers and disabilities. Topics include visible and invisible disabilities, superpowers that are themselves disabling, and the loss of superpowers as a metaphor for disability. What do the superhero comics tropes show us about expectations of health, ability, and those with permanent disabilities and chronic conditions?

Presented by Greg Rucka, Jen Van Meter, Jill Pantozzi, Katelyn Bruhn

Making Science Fun (with NASA)!

The Solar Dynamics Observatory’s Education and Public Outreach at NASA wants kids to be more engaged in science. This group of experienced NASA staff will give you tips from their educational programs to improve interest and science literacy in children of all backgrounds. And you will have the opportunity to ask them about what might work in your school or community.

Last summer, comic book geeks were abuzz about two women. One was the writer on DC’s reboot of Batgirl, where Barbara Gordon would leave behind her wheelchair and don the cape and cowl. The second donned the cape and cowl herself while asking pointed questions about the lack of female representation in comics. Join Gail Simone and “The Batgirl of San Diego” as they discuss the state of comics today.

Presented by Gail Simone, Kyrax2

Gender and the 74th Hunger Games

Although the Hunger Games trilogy takes place in what looks like a future North America, the nation of Panem is distinctive from the contemporary United States, Canada, and Mexico. Social and cultural conventions clearly shifted over the centuries between our own time and Katniss Everdeen’s or have they? Explore how the world of the Hunger Games presents race, culture, and ethnicity and how that treatment mirrors the way they are represented in media today.

Presented by Erin Lovejoy-Guron, V. Arrow

Sporty Geek: How Roller Derby and Quidditch Are Changing the Game for Women

Roller Derby and Quidditch don’t seem to have much in common on the surface. But they share something very important. They are both thriving, grassroots sporting efforts that provide a new range of athletic opportunities for women. Geek girls are kicking butt on skates and brooms! Explore the intersections of geek and jock culture with two sports that challenge convention and have the power to change women’s lives.

Presented by Sara Weisenbach, Chelsea Hougan, Tammy Oler

And some Sunday highlights:

Why Men Write Women Poorly, and How to Get a Clue

Author Greg Rucka shares his thoughts on why so many writers fail when it comes to portraying strong female characters in popular media, using examples, anecdotes, and the occasional rant. Topics covered include: theory of character development and portrayal; suggestions on ways all authors, aspiring or otherwise, can create stronger portrayals regardless of the gender, orientation, or background of themselves or their creations.

Presented by Greg Rucka

Stunning Space Science: Voyager — 12,396 days and counting

The twin Voyager are considered by many to be the most successful robotic explorers in the history of NASA. After having been on a journey of exploration for more than 26 years, the Voyagers continue to return data, and the discoveries continue. Learn all about the Voyager Mission, from its breakthrough trajectory, the basics of the spacecraft, its stunning science results, and what it’s doing now.

Womanthology Continues

The zeitgeist continues as Womanthology takes on new challenges in 2012 and continues the momentum of helping women of all ages and backgrounds realize their dream of telling stories through comics.

Learn how to write a finished novel (written or graphic) in one year by focusing on the single most important aspect to the novel: the story! Elizabeth Guizzetti has created three graphic novels, a comic book series, and a published novel, Other Systems, as well as over 100 paintings.

Presented by Elizabeth Guizzetti

Nerdlesque: A New Wave of Neo-Burlesque

A fun and informative look at a new trend in the neo-burlesque scene—Nerdlesque! The presentation starts off with a brief history of the art of burlesque. It then dives into the significance of such shows as: Boobs and Goombas: A Super Mario Burlesque; Whedonesque Burlesque; Babes in Space: The Wrath of Thong; and more. It’s slightly academic, slightly tongue-in-cheek look at nerdy burlesque.

Presented by Jessica Obrist

This is in no way an even remotely complete list. these are just a few of the panes and presentations which jumped out at me while I was going through the list. I HIGHLY encourage you to, a: get your tickets for Geek girl Con and b: peruse the list for yourself!